The first episode that was supposed to be smooth sailing suddenly turned into a prank segment. The program that was rehearsed for a long time couldn't be used anymore, and they even had to come up with a new program and face another evaluation. The contestants were already starting to worry just thinking about it.
Now, even the relaxed people are no longer relaxed, and the idle people are nowhere to be seen. Everyone is frantically running to the practice room, even if they have to beg for last-minute help, they have to do something.
All of this was faithfully recorded by the camera.
As Zhuang Jian watched the contestants rehearsing late into the night, a happy smile appeared on his face.
Although he also wanted to make a breakthrough and show enough strength in the preliminary round, Luo Xin had to admit that a short week of training could not make him as well-trained as those who had been practicing for more than ten years.
Therefore, he stopped struggling and gave the dance studio to those who needed it more.
Of course, he did not do it in vain.
When he gave up the practice room, he looked at the camera with a helpless but gratified expression and said, "They need the practice room more than I do. Although this is a competition, it also needs some warmth."
Luo Xin's face has always been a noble and distant face with little expression, but at this moment, he showed some emotion in front of the camera, which was surprisingly beautiful.
And it was also in the morning, when the sunlight came from behind him, it was like a natural filter.
Although it was not included in the final cut, this behind-the-scenes footage amazed many people when it was released later on.
As the saying goes, opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.
In the past few days, the other contestants have been frantically preparing their performances or squeezing in extra professional classes, practically sticking to their teachers 24/7 for one-on-one instruction. Meanwhile, Luo Xin has been constantly searching for the camera, seizing every opportunity to show off his various talents. He's earned so much screen time that even if the editors purposely cut him out, they still have to include some of his footage.
Even before the competition officially starts, Luo Xin has already taken a few steps ahead of the others.
In the blink of an eye, three days have passed.
Finally, it's the first day of the official recording. Luo Xin is still the excellent student who wakes up at five in the morning to go for a run. But since today is a special day, he kindly wakes up the others too. Of course, the most important thing is to interact briefly with Shao Xiangchen in front of the camera.
The others only came back from practicing late last night and are now at the height of their sleepiness. When they hear someone calling them to wake up, they can't help but plead, "Just a little longer, please."
"I'll give you five minutes, I'll wake up in five minutes..." But before they can even finish their sentence, they've already fallen back asleep.
Despite this scene, Luo Xin doesn't get discouraged. Instead, he kindly and patiently wakes them up one by one. At first glance, you wouldn't know how harmonious their dormitory is or how well Luo Xin gets along with them. It's hard to believe that they barely talked to each other before, and Luo Xin was practically invisible in the dorm.
But thanks to his thoughtfulness, their dorm is the first to arrive at the venue and prepare. They even get a short interview and a small advertisement segment, which makes the others feel grateful.
Shao Xiangchen looks at Luo Xin and smiles. He hears his teammate say, "Luo Xin is such a good person." He can't help but agree. Although Luo Xin may seem a bit cold, he's actually a really nice person.
Sitting on the side, the one known as "the good guy," Luo Xin, looks like he's not thinking about anything, but in reality, he's already figuring out how to make his presence known.
Should he start by criticizing someone right off the bat? Or maybe gossip with a "little sister" about something trivial? Or should he just be a loud and obnoxious reactor?
He lists out all of his thoughts, but then dismisses them one by one.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have many friends on the show, so randomly pulling an unfamiliar contestant to react with would be awkward.
After much thought, he can only regretfully give up on trying to grab attention during the preliminary round.
His plan to become popular will have to be pushed back, and he'll have to come up with a new strategy.
As the makeup artist applies makeup to his face, Luo Xin keeps a close eye on Shao Xiangchen, silently cheering him on.
You have to live long enough for a CP to be created, after all!
Shao Xiangchen, please don't get eliminated in the first few episodes!
A good director may not be noticeable at first, but after experiencing the unreliable one before, Zhuang Jian's value immediately becomes apparent.
The competition format remains the same, and because he's given up on his role as a critic, Luo Xin keeps a low profile during the seat selection process. He doesn't pay much attention to others, instead maintaining his own style, standing tall and beautiful with an air of nobility, which attracts the attention of a few people.
He took a quick look at the final seating arrangement, especially the few debut spots above.
Looking around, well, he doesn't really know many people.
The explosive atmosphere of the preliminary round starts with the entrance of the judges.
For the sake of the show's effect, Zhuang Jian also put in a lot of effort and chose Lin Jiawen as the main judge, but the other judges were no longer record producers or anonymous songwriters. Instead, they were the usual flowery male idols, with Xiang Li, a former member of a boy group, as the dance teacher, powerful singer Cheng Er as the vocal teacher, and professional rapper Rainbow Bei.
Luo Xin raised his eyebrow at the judges' lineup, because these people... are not easy to deal with.
Lin Jiawen is a given, having won the "Ugliest Singer" award, she has the qualification to say whatever she wants without being criticized. In recent years, she has become more and more fierce, saying whatever she thinks.
Xiang Li has the kind of temperament that attracts trouble, with a fan base that ranks in the top three for their ability to start fights. When Luo Xin was causing trouble in the fan group, he avoided Xiang Li's house, who is a guaranteed topical character.
Cheng Er has become more relaxed and chubby as he has gotten older, but he loves to target those singer-songwriter types and once publicly made a rookie who copied a melody cry.
Rainbow Bei, a Kazakh with a toothy smile, loves nothing more than watching other people's battles.
Before the recording even begins, Luo Xin already feels that this show's ratings are secure.
If he were a viewer, he would also want to watch this show. Just the judges alone are worth it.
Sure enough, as soon as the judges sit down, Lin Jiawen speaks up and stirs up trouble: "Wow, there are so many fresh meat here. Xiang Li, as a senior, do you feel pressured?"
Those who came to participate in the program are all preparing to become idols, and they will inevitably have to face Xiang Li in the future. Lin Jiawen's question made the atmosphere immediately tense.
Fortunately, Xiang Li has experienced enough ups and downs and doesn't take the bait. Instead, he smiles brightly and says, "Jiawen, hold back your tongue." Then he pretends not to have mocked Lin Jiawen's hobby of dating young idols, and kindly says, "I definitely don't feel pressured, I just feel like they're very familiar, after all, I went through this too. I think the program invited me for this reason."
Cheng Er and Rainbow Bei smile at each other and don't say anything.
The judges chatted for a few more moments and then the competition officially began.
In recent years, all idol drafts have followed the same format, with the first round being a talent showcase and preliminary evaluation.
For this round, Luo Xin doesn't feel any pressure at all, because the weight of this round is basically determined by the size of the agencies and popularity of the contestants themselves. As an amateur with no background, he has already accepted that he is just there to run alongside the real contestants.
Of course, he is not completely unprepared.
After this round, no matter what, he will find his phone and log into his one hundred fake accounts to vote for himself until he's in the safe zone!
He is a person with extensive voting experience, and his resources are comparable to those of a small company. He definitely won't let himself be eliminated in the first few episodes!
Of course, he will also vote for Xiang Chen.
But that's something for later, he has to survive first!
Getting sidetracked, Luo Xin looks at the contestants performing one by one and feels bored.
Without post-production and editing, live shows can be really difficult to watch.
Luckily, there are judges who can give them some joy. Watching two kids from the same company being forced to battle each other by Rainbow Bei, even though they clearly don't want to, made Luo Xin furrow his brows and think, "Fight, fight, fight!"
It's not that he enjoys seeing them suffer, it's just that their performance is not up to par. The company probably forced them to have some sort of team spirit, but since the two of them don't have a good relationship, their performance is just plain weird.
After watching their performances, Rainbow Bei, with his signature tiger teeth showing, said, "Both of your performances were pretty good, but the rules state that a company can only have one A, so you guys have to battle it out."
As if that wasn't enough, he added, "Of course, if the battle isn't good, then neither of you will get an A."
The two kids, who may or may not be eighteen, took the threat seriously and, maybe due to pent-up resentment, actually got angry during the battle. Their words were so biting and angry that it almost turned into a real fight.
The instigator, Rainbow Bei, gave both of them a B grade in the end, but of course, he also expressed his regret. However, as a viewer, Luo Xin didn't believe a word of it.
To be honest, this practice is quite unfair, but in the end, the two kids were able to benefit from it a little bit. With a few extra shots, it's hard to say that Rainbow Bei did a bad job.
The same thing happened several times afterwards. Occasionally, Lin Jiawen would burst out with 'sincere praise,' while Xiang Li politely greeted the 'senior' contestants, and Cheng Er made some dancers and rappers sing difficult songs without music, calling it 'bonus points'...
While the judges were busy causing chaos, the contestants were trembling with fear, and more than half of the contestants had already been evaluated in the preliminary round.
Soon, it was Luo Xin's turn.
He knew in his heart that it would be good enough if he had just one shot in the final cut, at most he would be in the montage of contestants.
But before going on stage, Luo Xin was still inexplicably nervous.
He held the microphone and took several deep breaths.
Before going on stage, he took a look at himself in the backstage mirror, and saw a young face.
He lifted his head slightly and walked into the spotlight.
This battle was not just for himself.
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